Republicans weigh distancing from Trump on economy before 3 November midterms

US President Donald Trump is campaigning in the final weeks before the midterm elections and defending the country's economic performance, the BBC reported. "We have the best economic numbers of any president in the history of our country, and yet people don't know about it because the press won't talk about it," Trump said last week, according to the BBC. The BBC reported that stock market indexes are high and US poverty rates are low, but that the overall picture is "not nearly as rosy".

According to the BBC, Trump describes concerns about affordability and the cost of living as "fake" and a Democrat-inspired "hoax". The BBC reported that inflation remains at 3.4%, outpacing wage growth, that average petrol costs $4.37 (£3.30) a gallon, and that beef prices are at a record high.

A YouGov survey cited by the BBC found 63% of respondents believe the economy is "getting worse". An AP/NORC poll released last week found 17% of adult Americans approve of the president's handling of cost-of-living issues, while 26% approve of his handling of the economy overall. The BBC reported the polls also suggest policies including tariffs (taxes on imported goods), immigration enforcement and the conflict with Iran are widely unpopular.

Avery James, director of communications at the Republican-aligned polling company Echelon Insights, said cost of living is the top voter issue. "We ask our voters their motivation to turn out, and what we find is cost of living, cost of living, cost of living," James said, according to the BBC. "That's the top issue."

The BBC reported that Republicans running in the 3 November elections face a choice over whether to distance themselves from Trump. Their fear, the BBC reported, is that echoing his outlook risks losing races currently projected to be very tight, while being seen to break with him on the state of the economy carries consequences.

Florida congressman Byron Donalds, who backed Trump after his 2020 election defeat and played a prominent role in his 2024 campaign, is running for Florida governor with Trump's encouragement and endorsement. At a Hispanic church in Kissimmee, Donalds said: "We're the best state in America," before adding: "But success has gotten expensive." The BBC reported he listed constituents including retirees, teachers, emergency workers, restaurant staff and local government employees.